The Good Person Of Szechuan

One night in the decrepit fictional city of Szechuan, a sex worker, Shen Te (burlesque artist Moira Finucane) provides accommodation for some visitors.

They turn out to be gods, and reward her with a tobacco shop to turn her life around. But when the townspeople try to take advantage of her, she develops an alter-ego: her assertive male cousin, Shui Ta.

A Bertolt Brecht play directed by avant-garde theatre-maker (and artistic director of the National Theatre of China) Meng Jinghui, and acted by Australian performers, The Good Person Of Szechuan is constantly surprising, and often messy. Though there are a few questionable decisions – are the wheelchair and the one character’s accent really necessary? – for the most part, the chaos and weirdness is what makes the play so entertaining.

Its highlights are its colourful characters, its offbeat and absurd humour, Marg Horwell’s dystopian, cyber-punk set design, the Brechtian delivery of lines in unison, and electro-punk and industrial live music from The Sweats. Among a strong cast, a burlesque artist playing the lead stands out; Finucane does, however, excel in the parts most outlandish, much of the play exuding a soap opera melodrama that seems silly on purpose. When the play pushes the extremes, that’s when it’s most effective.

The Good Person Of Szechuan might be raw and rough, but underneath all the spectacle lies discussion points to do with gender and power, societal expectations, selfishness versus selflessness, the human psyche in times of hardship, and questions of a higher power.